Birth

[Chelseaaaaa]

Hi

Looking for a bit of help if possible,
I am 2 weeks away from my due date, I am a first time mum who's having a baby girl and has been breech for most of my pregnancy (prepared myself that I would need a c section) Until the other day when I had a scan and she had turned head down and then my Since then I have had mixed feelings as my midwife wants me to be induced now. I think I would have rather have had a c section as I've heard loads of horrible stories about being induced and I really don't want to go overdue!

Just looking for a bit of advice really please

So many people have said about the drip and how bad it is! I k ow also it can make the baby's heart go all over the place! Thank you so much I really hope I'll do fine haha xx

Thank you so much and good luck with your pregnancy xx

Sort of. It's a vacuum thing they attach to baby's head and pull them out! It is much less likely to result in severe perineal injury than forceps though.

I don't know why they've started offering inductions out now to anyone and everyone for the most minor things.

Agree with this. I had our little boy last week and as I'm 40 the consultants were constantly pressing for me to have an induction despite a text book trouble free pregnancy (in fairness the midwives were much more relaxed about it).

I trusted that my body and baby knew when it was ready and refused to even discuss it before my due date, and decided I'd see how I felt at my next appointment which would have been 41+2. As it happened I went into labour spontaneously at 40+4 and delivered naturally.

I didn't read it as I already knew I didn't want an 'early' induction but my midwife recommended reading 'in your own time' by Sara Wickham which discusses the evidence around induction and western medicine fiddling with labour and birth.

Definitely not too late to ask for a section. I had reduced movements on the Wednesday, they wanted to induce me on the Thursday but I really didn’t want to go through that and had my section at 3pm on the Friday.

Honestly the section was such a great experience, I’ll 100% be choosing it as my birth option for my next pregnancy. My baby is 4 weeks old tomorrow and I’m off the pain killers and really back to normal now.

If you want a section rather than induction just ask for it. I ended up asking them if the baby has to come out so soon that you want to induce me why can’t I have a section (was having a difficult time with a horrible midwife on Thursday early evening).

My experience of induction was horrible, my natural first birth with no pain relief was a walk in the park by comparison. As others have said it’s the drip that causes all the issues. It’s the stuff of the devil. I’d rather have a c section than be put on that again

Oh okay that's good to know that you had it so quickly, how far was you when you had the section x

I haven't had my baby yet but I have 2 acquaintances who had inductions and they really had terrible experiences. I wouldn't do an induction, ask for the C section.

@Chelseaaaaa I was 39+5 on the day of my section. I felt really informed on the day of the section and it was a really calm experience. My partner was with me through the whole thing. My top tip would be to ask for a bit of numbing cream when they put your cannula in your hand, that was honestly the worst bit of the whole op for me x

I went overdue by 2 weeks and was induced. It failed, partly due to lack of hospital staff (pandemic) and i ended up with EMCS.

You don’t have to be induced, they can’t force you. So you can indeed ask for a section.

One thing to ask about inductions is about staffing levels and what happens if you are induced, ready to have waters broken etc but then there are no staff or beds on delivery suite. That’s what happened to me and a lot of other women who have spoken of their experience on here, and we were all left in limbo. I was sent home and not monitored properly. So do ask how likely this is to happen at your hospital.

Did you have to have an emergency c section? I guess because you was 2 weeks overdue!?

The other thing I wanted to say is I am having my midwife appointments still every 2 weeks I thought now that I am nearly at my due date (38weeks)it would be weekly ? Is this the case?

It's been so nice to get so many peoples opinions about being induced& I've decided I don't want that, I would ideally maybe go a bit over my due date, have my sweeps and if nothing happens ask for a c section as I really don't want to force labour.

Not sure if that would be too late tho😣

@Chelseaaaaa I was originally booked in for 41+4 weeks if I went overdue as I didn’t want induced and getting that booked wasn’t an issue. It was just all changed because I had reduced movements.

@Chelseaaaaa I'd discuss it at your next midwife appointment, or maybe give them a call earlier depending when that is.

I'm not under the NHS as we're not mainland UK, so could be different but I'm fairly sure if I'd have said at 38 weeks 'I'm happy to go to 41 weeks hoping for spontaneous labour but if nothing by then I'd like a c-section' then they'd have booked it in.

My midwife appointments also stayed every 2 weeks. I really wouldn't be anxious about going a little overdue if everything else with the pregnancy is well. The due date is only their best guess in any case, and very rarely right!

Yes i had an emergency c section. I was induced due to being nearly 2 weeks overdue. But when it was time to break my waters, there weren’t enough staff on delivery suite, so i got sent home. They then forgot about me. 2 days later, i had an emergency c section after 2 days of contractions because my son’s heartbeat was dipping with each contraction. Also turned out my placenta function was declining from being so overdue.

Oh okay I am going to ask this on Tuesday then, I am just anxious because I've been so much with reduced movements the whole pregnancy so going over just scares me more! And I genuinely didn't think I could ask for a c section so late on!

@MariaVT65

Oh wow that is pretty scary and being sent home with contractions too! This is why I don't want to go overdue really or be induced because of short staff which is all the time apparently I don't want to be left for hours on end

Hi,

I don’t have experience of induction but just wanted to say, I know it’s really hard but you should try to take things as they come. I had bad anxiety in pregnancy and because I had been diagnosed with gestational diabetes, there was a lot of talk about what would happen if I hadn’t gone into labour by my due date (hospital policy was they don’t allow you to go overdue if you have GD). It felt like I spent most of my pregnancy hearing about all the terrible things that could happen if my baby was too big and worrying about it.
I had an appointment to have a sweep the day before I was due but I actually gave birth the night before it. It was the most straight forward natural birth you can imagine and she was an average weight, not big at all. So it was all worry for nothing!
sorry if this is not very helpful, but my point is that there are so many different ways things can go with pregnancy and childbirth, while it is good to work out what you want and don’t want to happen in terms of medical intervention etc, try not to waste too much energy on anticipating things that might happen because it might turn out differently and then it’s all moot!
Good luck and I really hope everything goes smoothly for you x

I was induced Sunday gone and had my little girl and I'd take that any day over a section :

I had the first gel at 11am
2nd gel at 5pm
Waters broke by themselves
I was 2cm at 11pm
Gave birth with gas and air at 1am it went very fast and I didn't have time for an epidural . The birth itself wasn't traumatic honestly the Contractions after the second gel were the worst part I had already had petadine so couldn't have it again and had to have gas and air. I went hard on the gas and air and my tens machine so I'm actually missing a couple of hours near the end as I was out of it. If you get induced get gas and air and get the petadine later on.l and definitely get a tens machine it helped me
So much .

Hi there it's a labour ward midwife. Sorry to hear you are suffering with much anxiety. I suggest you push to see a Consultant midwife to make an individualised care plan for you. I think you would really benefit from 1 hour appointment. I totally understand your anxiety. Firstly you can ask for a cs at any time, even in advanced labour. Doctors will definitely give it to you as your baby is measuring big. You can ask ar any point until we can actually see the tip of the baby's head. The more advanced you are the more stressful it's likely to be. However no one can make agree to continue with oxytocin for example without your consent. As for the mode of delivery- how baby is going to be born and how long labour is going to last depends on the size and position of the baby and size and shape of the woman's pelvis. Combinations are endless and women can birth huge babies if the baby is in a good position. The trouble is babies turn around throughout labour. So we often don't know until the very last minute what would be the safest way to deliver. Saying this an elective Cs is not without risk and could negatively affect future pregnancies. I think you need to see either a Consultant midwife or Consultant obstetrician

Hi, I am so glad you commented, I've been absolutely fine up until now with my anxiety I think it's mixed feelings as I am excited to meet my baby but also so scared with the experience and I don't think it has helped I've not had a birth plan put into place. I am under a consultant but everytime I see them I feel like my opinion doesn't matter and we are pushed out the door asap! I've got a midwife appointment on Tuesday but I've never had the same midwife which is hard too

@Chelseaaaaa I was induced two days after my due date! I don't know if there is a 100% correlation between being induced and a harder time with contractions but I've seen a lot of anecdotal evidence. That being said, it only upset me as I wasn't planning on having the epidural! I had to because of the pain. If you're happy to have the epidural and it works then the induction contractions should be fine if you tell them you want the epidural as soon as it's available to you.

I've been told by midwife's that you can't have the epidural until you are in acts labour

Ah yes, sorry I was 2cm dilated when they brought me in for induction so I didnt need the pessaries they just broke my waters instead. They then offered it to me. I held off for about half an hour I think and then begged for it 😂

Hi there it's the labour ward midwife again. Sorry to hear you are being pushed from pillar to the post and back. You might consider ordering either Why Induction Matters by Sarah Wickham or Induction of Labour by Rachel Reed. Both are written by research midwives and provide excellent explanations and pros and cons of induction. Both books are very small, designed to be read in a short period of time by a lay person. They are a few pounds on Amazon. Highly recommend. It's not true you can't ask for epidural until you are in establish labour. Can you ask a friend or a partner to come along and advocate for you? Saying this I would suggest a stepladder approach to pain management. Start with paracetamol and TENS machine, then move onto gas and air and morphine/pethidine and leave epidural to the last. If you find yourself completely exhausted by the time you need to be started on the oxytocin drip you can request epidural first. Saying this it's good to mobilise for as long as possible in labour, epidurals don't leave much room for mobilisation. Good luck with whatever you decide. I hope your Tuesday appointment goes well.